Quartets are built on solid group dynamics, and confinement has been testing that foundation. Saxophonist Elissa Kana explores the challenges of staying artistically engaged on her own and as a member of the Colere Quartet, which won a gold medal at the 2020 (virtual) Fischoff Competition. Check out the Colere Quartet at https://colerequartet.com/, on Facebook, and on YouTube(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJBPc5q4xiObQsq42-jLf9g)

Hancher Presents

S5, E3 - Quartet in Quarantine: Elissa Kana Discusses Life and Musicality Online

Presenting quarantine through a small-business lens, this episode features Leslie Nolte, founder and artistic director of Nolte Academy in Coralville. Nolte shares the challenges and rewards of shifting classes to Zoom in less than two weeks. In addition to the technology, participants learned to dance in 8’ x 8’ spaces -- without hitting the coffee table. Nolte’s story is exemplary of the resolve to provide consistency despite an uncertain future.

S5, E2 - Staying en pointe: Nolte Academy's Socially Distant Move Online

After an unforeseen and unprecedented cancelling of our Spring 2020 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Hancher Presents is back for a very special season. Join Chuy and guest hosts and Graduate Student Interns Cody and Emily. They are joining us through an internship with the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies Humanities for the Public Good program. And speaking of the public good, in this first episode we lay the foundation for this special season. Where we explore all things being a creative entity in the face of a worldwide pandemic. What is it like to work with artists completely through socially distant means? Where were we when we realized that we would not be coming back to our office or classrooms after the University went entirely digital? What does the future of the presenting arts mean in the midst of social and political change? We might not have all the answers but we're certainly going to explore!

S5, Ep 1 -The Summer 2020 season (you know)"..there was so much that was not normal at that time."

Today Mark Rheaume discusses the Danish String Quartet, an Emmy-nominated group named Ensemble of the Year by MusicalAmerica Worldwide who is performing at Hancher on May 4. The quartet, described as "thrilling", "exhilirating", and having a "rockstar vibe", will be performing pieces by well-known composers Bach, Webern, and Schnittke. The quartet is known for its affinity for Scandinavian composers, and their ongoing recording project, a five-album musical evolution, has been meet with a GRAMMY nomination and worldwide acclaim. The Danish String Quartet is made up of members violinists Frederik Øland and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violist Asbjørn Nørgaard, and cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin.

Tonight's Program with Mark Rheaume | Danish String Quartet

In this episode, Mark Rheaume talks about Boston Pops, the orchestra that came to Hancher and presented a pop-inspired rendition of John Williams music. The Boston Pops Orchestra is a group of highly skilled musicians who love to put their own spin on classical music by adding a twist of pop and lighter classical music. The Orchestra was conducted by John Williams from 1979 to 1985, and they draw from that time with him in this performance.

Tonight's Program with Mark Rheaume | The Boston Pops Orchestra

Hancher Presents is back with an intimate conversation with Artistic Director of Rubberband, Victor Quijada. In what was scheduled as a 30 minute interview turns into a deep dive on Victors beginnings in the LA underground dance scene, his journey to dancing with Twyla Tharp (check out the 25 minute mark for Victors reaction at an original 1996 playbill with the company) and his views on the current Contemporary and Hip Hop dance landscape and where he fits into it.

S4, Episode 7-In his own words Victor Quijada

One of our favorite Creative Matters conversations at Hancher was also one of the few unreleased on our podcast. For the very first time hear the full conversation between Taylor Mac and Garth Greenwell. Their discussion covers topics like Taylor's A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (and its profound impact and design), how Taylor navigated Queer history and its ramifications on present day performances, incorporating calamity in your art, how Taylor views himself as an artistic reminder, and much much more. Taylor and Garth's conversation occurred on April 26, 2018 in Hancher's Strauss Hall.

S4, Episode 6 - A Conversation with Taylor Mac and Garth Greenwell

Mark Rheaume talks about The Miró Quartet and Kiera Duffy in today's episode, discussing their history and the program for their performance at Hancher, "Personal Revolution". Their program includes symphonies from well-known composers Schubert (Quartettsatz and three other pieces) and Bach (StringQuartet No. 8 in E minor), as well as "Three Early Songs" composed by George Crumb and the Lyric Suite written by Alban Berg. The Miró Quartet is one of America's most celebrated string quartets, with The New Yorker labeling them as "furiously committed" and performances throughout the world adding to their acclaim. Kiera Duffy, an American soprano who has been described as "what great opera singers are supposed to be but usually aren't now" by Parterre Box and whose career has seen her with many of the world's greatest orchestras and conductors, will be accompanying the quartet during their performance at Hancher on January 20.

Tonight's Program with Marh Rheaume | The Miró Quartet And Kierra Duffy

Running from November 19 to December 5, 2019, artist Miriam Alarcón Avila is presenting the culmination of a photo-documentary project in Hancher's Stanley Cafe entitled Luchadores Immigrants in Iowa - comprised of portraits of immigrants to Iowa reimagined as Luchadores (wrestlers), wearing traditional and customized Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) masks. The mask is a symbol representing their identity as invisible Latinx immigrants. By wearing the mask, they become local super-heroes, empowering themselves to freely share their inspirational immigration story. In this very special episode Micah and Chuy sit down with longtime Hancher friend Miriam to talk about the inspiration behind the project, how the masks proved helpful regarding the challenges she faced in interviews, and what Lucha Libre means to her and Latinx people.

S4, Episode 5 - "Struggling and Overcoming" Luchadores in IA | A convo with Miriam Alarcón Avila

On Saturday, October 26, 2019, Hancher was pleased to present SITI Company's The Bacchae, a new English translation and innovative take on one of the Western world’s greatest dramas, directed by internationally-acclaimed director and scholar Anne Bogart. On Friday, October 25, 2019, Bogart joined Alan MacVey, the Director of the Division of Performing Arts, for a conversation about listening deeply, unpacking meaning ("What is it? What is it really?"), and more, as part of the creative process of theatremaking. This conversation was presented as part of the UI Creative Matters series, which seeks to demonstrate that creativity is not only at the core of all research and discovery, but also central to our human experience. To learn more about the series, visit https://creativematters.research.uiowa.edu/. Anne Bogart is one of the three Co-Artistic Directors of SITI Company, which she founded with Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki in 1992. She is a professor of theatre at Columbia University, where she runs the Graduate Directing Program. To learn more about Bogart's work, visit http://siti.org/.

S4, Episode 4 - "What is it? What is it really?" | Anne Bogart in Conversation with Alan MacVey

Chuy and Micah are back in the studio for the first time this season. Listen in to hear them recap the season so far, including an educational and engaging evening with Audra McDonald, a show of remarkable stamina by the cast of RENT, a game-changing collaboration between local artists (Vocal Artists of Iowa) and Storm Large, and a powerful residency with Urban Bush Women.

S4, Episode 3 - The Story So Far | Kicking Off Our "Senior Year" in the New Hancher

"What does it mean for an artist to have an “American” voice?" our guest host, Mark Rheaume, ponders in this very special episode of Hancher Presents. Rheaume is a PhD Candidate in Music Composition at the University of Iowa and he wrote and produced this episode exploring Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's upcoming Hancher program. An ensemble of 13 exceptional musicians—including David Finckel on cello and David Shifrin on clarinet—celebrate the intrepid (and diverse) American spirit in a performance highlighting two pairs of composers who helped shape classical music in the twentieth century. Harry T. Burleigh was a star student of Dvořák who exposed the Czech composer to American spirituals and was in turn encouraged by Dvořák to perform African American folk music. Two generations later, Copland and Bernstein conceived a clean, clear American sound conveying the wonder of open spaces and endless possibilities. This program will be performed at Hancher Auditorium at 3:00 PM on Sunday, October 13, 2019.

S4, Episode 2 - Today's Program with Mark Rheaume | Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

In our first episode of the 2019-2020 season, Micah and Chuy sat down for a conversation with the co-artistic directors of Urban Bush Women—a stirring contemporary dance company committed to pushing the boundaries of storytelling through spoken word, movement, and singing artists. Listen in to hear Chanon Judson-Johnson and Samantha Speis discuss UBW's unique history, dedication to training Builders, Organizers, and Leaders through Dance, commitment to community engagement, and their latest work, Hair & Other Stories, which Judson-Johnson calls "a kitchen conversation about systemic racism". Drawn from personal and public narratives centered on individual identity in a collective culture, Hair & Other Stories investigates issues of body image, race, gender identity, economic inequity, and more. Hair & Other Stories will be performed on the Hancher stage on Saturday, September 21. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at the Iowa City Public Library on Tuesday, September 17, 2019. For more information about the company, visit https://www.urbanbushwomen.org/.

S4, Episode 1 - Urban Bush Women | "A Kitchen Conversation About Systemic Racism" & Other Stories

We're back with our last episode of Season 3 and, in a poetic twist, we're ending this season just as we began it. In this episode, Micah and Chuy's trusty interns Reid and Jarrett return to the studio to talk about some of the work they've been doing this year and to share their thoughts and insights about some of the exciting artists we'll be presenting at Hancher in 2019-2020. For a full schedule of our 2019-2020 offerings, visit https://hancher.uiowa.edu/2019-20. Tickets go on sale to the public on July 1, 2019. Thanks for listening! We'll be back in the fall. Stay tuned!

S3, Episode 13 - Next Year at Hancher | Exploring the 2019-2020 Season with Interns Reid and Jarrett

In our second to last episode of the season, Micah and Chuy are back in the studio to recap another exciting year of programming on the Hancher stage. We saw a lot, we learned a lot, and now we're ready to talk it through. We also attempt to unpack Batsheva's polarizing new work, Venezuela, which was performed at Hancher on April 12, 2019. What can good art do? Listen in to hear our thoughts. Under the artistic direction of choreographer Ohad Naharin, Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company has built a global reputation for excellence. Employing Naharin’s movement language—known as “Gaga”—the company stands apart from other modern dance companies, offering a singular and arresting approach to choreography and individual movement. In its first Hancher appearance since 2006, Batsheva performed Venezuela, a “work emblematic of Naharin’s curiosity and ongoing search for new challenges” (Haaretz).

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Hancher Presents

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